Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

Hot Cakes by The Darkness:
I was always disappointed by the fact that The Darkness imploded into cocaine after only two albums, so it was a pleasant surprise to learn that they'd recently gotten back together and released a third. This album is better than the first and almost as good as the second (One Way Ticket To Hell And Back), although there aren't any obvious hits in the mix. It's more of the same, which is great when that's exactly what you like.

Final Grade: B

Argo:
Ben Affleck is definitely better behind the camera than in front of it, and this movie set during the Iran hostage crisis is great all the way through. I was surprised with how well they managed the suspense and tension -- you wouldn't expect a movie costarring John Goodman to be this taut and exciting.

Final Grade: A-

Chuck, Season Three:
The third season of Chuck remains strong, and the writers have a knack for mixing up the storylines as soon as they start to feel stale, rather than stretching things out to unbelievability. The plot line gets a little too needlessly complex around the 2/3rds mark, but it recovers nicely. I had to watch the last few episodes in a row, because they were too good to stop.

Final Grade: B+

Okami:
Paige recommended this game to me several years ago, and I finally got it as a bargain bin birthday present for $20. You'd think a game drawn in watercolor style where you use gestures to paint things into the world would be a good fit for the Wii, but it really just shows how bad the Wii motion controls actually are, as your circles get interpreted as hashtags. The game managed to hold my interest for about a half hour of obtuse Japanese storytelling and annoying helper fairies before I stopped and ate a really big sandwich. It wasn't necessarily a bad game -- just not one that intrigued me enough to keep playing it. The sandwich was delicious and had ham, mayo, bacon bits, mustard, and red onions.

Final Grade: Not Graded